"Liliana, Erica... stay at the mountain's base. I'll go alone."
At the mountain's foot, Phoenix instructed Liliana and Erica.
After all, a fight was coming.
Just like battles against Heretic Gods, Campione versus Campione clashes weren't spectator sports.
"Understood. The King must be careful too," Liliana and Erica responded, their concern evident. They roughly knew what was coming.
"Higokumaru, watch over them," Phoenix nodded to the sword spirit.
"Understood," Higokumaru replied.
"Please follow me, ladies. I've prepared accommodations," Lu Yinghua bowed, his voice courteous.
Watching Lu Yinghua lead Higokumaru and the others away, Phoenix turned her gaze toward the mountain. Without lingering, she set off alone along the rugged path that wound its way to the summit.
As she climbed, Phoenix pondered Luo Hao's introduction. Truth be told, aside from being excessively narcissistic, Luo Hao seemed... passably decent.
Luo Hao was a hardcore otaku girl who practically never left Mount Lu.
This reminded Phoenix of a certain Moon Princess, though of course... Luo Hao's otaku tendencies couldn't possibly compare to that celestial maiden's.
The ascent proved surprisingly swift. Phoenix had expected obstacles or tests along the way, but the path remained unimpeded. The carnivorous flowers didn't so much as twitch, allowing her to reach Mount Lu's peak without hindrance.
This puzzled Phoenix. Luo Hao wasn't typically known for such magnanimity.
Yet she didn't dwell on it, having already reached her destination.
Beneath a plum tree ahead, she found an exquisite young girl sitting cross-legged on the ground. A tea tray rested before her, and she held a teacup in her hands - the scene itself was a work of art.
Though Luo Hao's infamous reputation precedes her, it cannot be denied that she is a peerless beauty.
The skin peeking from beneath her Han-style skirt's hem glows with a milky whiteness. Her long black hair is coiled into twin buns adorned with lotus-like pink ornaments. Two braids, their ends tied with red ribbons, drape across her shoulders.
She holds a teacup, savoring its contents with deliberate slowness. Each movement carries an inexplicable grace, as if she has become one with this world.
"You've come, the seventh Campione from our homeland..."
As Phoenix approaches the young girl, this peerless beauty—Luo Hao—remains focused on her tea, not even glancing up.
"Luo Hao... Sect Leader... what exquisite taste you possess!"
Phoenix pays no mind to the cold reception. Knowing Luo Hao's nature, he recognizes this as her most amiable demeanor.
"Name yourself. You've earned the privilege of being known to me. As fellow citizens of China, and as a woman who outshines men, I find you deeply intriguing!"
Luo Hao set down her teacup and finally looked up at Phoenix, who was dressed in men's attire. Her eyes brimmed with admiration.
As fellow citizens of China, in Luo Hao's eyes... Phoenix was essentially her junior. What made her even more remarkable was... this junior was also a woman.
Luo Hao's curiosity about Phoenix intensified.
Yet even so, Luo Hao maintained her arrogant demeanor.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking someone's name?" Phoenix didn't grow angry at Luo Hao's haughty attitude, for that was simply her nature.
However, Phoenix wouldn't indulge her either.
If she were merely a newly born Campione, she might have compromised. But... she wasn't.
Nor did she fear Luo Hao.
Yet... Phoenix could sense the surging curse power within Luo Hao's petite frame, like a raging sea tide. Were it unleashed, Mount Lu itself would vanish in an instant.
Beneath the beauty lay icy authority and overwhelming pressure.
But... that was all there was to it.
"What an intriguing junior. It's been ages since anyone dared to speak to me like this. Yet you're not wrong; failing to introduce myself immediately was indeed my oversight."
The black-haired peerless young girl smiled even more, clearly astonished that this new "sister" would dare address her so boldly. She spoke with a voice that carried authority throughout the heavens:
"My surname is Luo, given name Cui Lian, courtesy name Hao. I am the Cult Leader of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains, the one who reigns supreme over martial arts. Remember my name well and imprint it deeply in your memory."
As she spoke, Luo Hao's body erupted with boundless curse power, its overwhelming force pressing down upon Phoenix.
Yet Phoenix remained utterly unperturbed, as if nothing had occurred.
"The one who reigns supreme over martial arts... ha ha ha ha..." Phoenix suddenly burst out laughing, her laughter carrying a mocking tone.
"New Campione, are you mocking me?"
Hearing Phoenix's laughter, Luo Hao's face instantly stiffened. In the blink of an eye, her expression turned to anger.
Originally, because Phoenix was also a Campione from China and a woman like herself, Luo Hao had considered this a rare treasure. She hadn't even minded that the New King had entered her territory without a word of greeting.
In fact, Luo Hao had even prepared to meet this new ruler and offer her guidance.
But now, after hearing the New King's self-introduction... she was mocking her? Clearly showing contempt.
How could the proud Luo Hao possibly accept this?
So, Luo Hao slapped the tea table in front of her and instantly stood up, glaring at Phoenix with a hostile expression. The tea table immediately shattered into pieces.
A curse power several times stronger than before swept across the entire summit of Mount Lu like a raging wind, even causing the surrounding trees to collapse under the pressure...
"Is that not true? Do you know... the path of martial arts has no end?!
The one who claims to stand at the pinnacle of martial arts? Even I wouldn't dare to make such grandiose claims. It's just like a frog watching the sky from the bottom of a well, a narrow-minded arrogance."
"I am Phoenix , guardian of China for ten thousand years! Let me show you the grandeur of the martial path!"
(TL Note: Technically Phoenix introduced herself as Lin Chiling (林炽翎) aka Blazing Feather, but that essentially meant phoenix as mc has been refering to themselves as. Just thought to make that distinction since they used a slightly different variation of their name for this introduction. Just keeping the name consistant to avoid confusion and not let people wonder who the heck Lin Chiling is.)
As she spoke, a force even greater than Luo Hao's radiated from Phoenix. The very heavens and earth around Mount Lu began to shift under her overwhelming presence.
The clouds at the mountain's peak turned crimson, descending upon the earth as wind and clouds surged in their wake...
The entire world transformed under Phoenix's influence, as if nature itself feared her.
Unlike Luo Hao's curse power, the force emanating from Phoenix shattered established laws.